led by our beating hearts
by ecxelsior
Summary: "You… risked your well being in order to buy candy dolphins?" Annabeth can't help the astonishment in her voice. Percy looks deeply offended, and his eyes shine with mirth. "They're gummy sharks." He protested "and they're my lifeblood. ::: in which Annabeth is a shining athlete in a small town, and she happens to run into one Percy Jackson at a grocery store. She doesn't believe i
1. ran into the night, you can't be found

The first time Annabeth Chase meets Percy Jackson is much more anticlimactic than she imagined.

It's not that Annabeth spends a lot of time actively thinking about someone she's never met, but being a student at Pantheon Senior High School means that an active education in the ongoings of people like Percy Jackson's life is inevitable. That's mostly due to the nature of the rivalry between their high school and his.

Olympus is a relatively small town in Virginia, surrounded only by rolling hills that are dotted by small farms and fields. The lack of interesting things to do results in all of the annoying teenagers at her school to fixate on outdoing the students of the only other high school in town. Whether it's academics, athletics, or school spirit, both schools compete with impossible rigor. Akin to the rivalry between Poseidon and Athena, this one between the Spartans and Gladiators was born of hormonal adolescent egos and mutual loathing.

Legion High School lies on the west side of town, across the Tiber Creek. The students there are generally more wealthy than the ones at Pantheon which only contributes to the unrest. Annabeth has experienced being caught in the crosshairs of the ill-fated rivalry more times than she can count. Being one of Pine's star athletes guarantees that her high school uses her as ammunition and bragging grounds every chance she gets. While she has as much- if not more- school spirit as the next girl, she has no desire to participate in the cutthroat barbs and practical jokes that the majority of the student body takes so much joy in. She makes it a point to attend all major school meets and games against Legion, if not for her interest in the sports themselves then for her fascination of how the rivalry makes her already arrogant and hypermasculine peers even more conceited and stupid.

Her heavy involvement in soccer and track may draw attention, but both schools place a much greater emphasis on basketball and swimming where Percy shines. It's at these basketball games and swim meets that she glimpses him at first. She always sits at the very top of the bleachers with Reyna so they can make fun of the athletes on both sides and review their schoolwork. Even if she didn't have to hear the accompanying booing from her side of the gym every time he steps out onto the court or up to the pool, she can begrudgingly admit that he is an incredible athlete. She's never held a conversation with him, but his jet black hair and deeply tanned skin always stands out.

Although she doesn't hate him the way most students do, she maintains a constant state of irritation towards all things Legion related. The way their town is split down the middle based on something as trivial as high school sports is remnant of something out of a medieval storybook written by children. Even the adults tend to promote the rivalry, like steadfastly watching a bunch of teens duke it out over volleyball and math competitions with save them from their boring lives.

She makes it barely 10 minutes into the school day before she hears someone mention Percy Jackson. She's at her locker, in the midst of shoving her books in her locker (it's way too far into the semester for her to still organize her stuff) when one of the designated douchey jocks starts loudly ranting about the previous night's basketball events. Apparently, there was a scrimmage and "that a-hole jackson kid" managed to pull the score into a tie during the last minute. The buzz continues throughout her school day, and even her normally sensible friends think that it's fascinating how much Legion's subpar team has improved.

A couple hours later, Annabeth is making a pit stop at her neighborhood's Stop and Shop on the way to movie night at Piper's house. She relaxes at the familiar clattering of wind chimes as she yanks open the door, and mutters a quick greeting to Chiron, the owner. Chiron's has always been one of her favorite places in town. It's owner is an old family friend who taught her how to deal with her dyslexia when she was younger. He's always been a mentor and father figure to her, and she picks up shifts at the store on weekends.

The store itself has this soothing atmosphere that never fails her. The floorboards creak when she steps across them, and the Frank Sinatra poster that's tacked to the wall by the door is on the verge of falling off but somehow the building still exudes comfort. She knows every inch of it from elementary school days spent curled up in the big vintage armchair in the corner so she could escape her parent's fighting.

That's partially why seeing Percy Jackson in the snacks aisle is so surprising. It's not that people from Legion aren't allowed on this side of town, but they aren't exactly expected. Percy Jackson with his shock of black hair and sea green eyes is utterly recognizable- not to mention that he's wearing a purple hoodie with the words JHS Gladiators emblazoned on the front. It's like painting a target on your back while simultaneously walking into a war zone. She considers walking away, but he spots her first.

"Hey! You're Annabeth, right?" he calls out just as she was about to begin her retreat. "You do soccer and track and stuff at Pantheon." his eyes reflect the light of the fairy lights Annabeth draped all over the fixtures in the ceiling during her interior design phase in seventh grade. The way he's rocking back and forth on his heels reminds her entirely of Leo, and she wonders if he had ADHD too. It's certainly a big part of why Annabeth's so involved in sports- it's nearly impossible to get rid of the restlessness she always feels. She's suddenly aware of the fact that she hasn't brushed her hair all day, or bothered to conceal the circles under her eyes. She shifts her weight onto her left foot and tries to suppress her nerves.

"Soccer and track and stuff. That's me." she answers honestly "and you're Legion's swimming god." He's a couple inches taller than her, and even more tan, like he spent all his free time at a beach instead of a tiny town in Virginia. His cheeks take on a rosy pink color and he lifts his shoulders in an awkward half shrug.

"So that's what they call me on this side of the creek, huh?" he questions. "You know, people say that you're the best forward that the town has seen in years." Usually when people bring up her soccer position their tones are mocking in a oh congrats, female sort of way. But Percy's tone is earnest and completely at odds with what most of his teammates have thrown at her.

"Uh- I'm okay." she manages "soccer's definitely not nearly as interesting as your whole basketball thing."

"So what, pray tell, is one of Westbury's revered athletes doing on this side of town?" Annabeth prods "You know, if any other student had noticed you you'd have been immediately sentenced to death by overzealous high schoolers."

Percy lets loose a quiet laugh at this, and she can't help the sliver of satisfaction that snakes through her body. He looks oddly embarrassed, and the sheer normalcy of his accompanying flush goes against all her prior expectations of this boy. She takes in the way he bites down on his lip as he unfurls his right wrist to reveal a small cellophane package filled with… dolphins?

"You… risked your well being in order to buy candy dolphins?" Annabeth can't help the astonishment in her voice. Percy looks deeply offended, and his eyes shine with mirth.

"They're gummy sharks." He protested "and they're my lifeblood. Seriously, Annabeth Chase, gummy sharks are the food of the gods." he continues, "my cousin, Nico is supposed to supply me with them, since this is the only place in town which sells them, but he's on some stupid date which means I have to do everything myself as per usual."

By the time he's finished with his tirade, his eyebrows are knitted together in concentration and his hands are still moving to finish his latest dramatic gesture.

"Nico Di Angelo?" she questions "He's your cousin?" Thanks to her longstanding friendship with Will, Annabeth cannot go 24 hours without hearing him ramble on and on about the gorgeous brunette with the gorgeous dark eyes that- oh god annabeth they make me want to melt he's so out of my league. It took Will an entire semester of pining from a distance before he finally made a move and Annabeth has spent the entirety of the last two weeks helping Will plan an overly complex date meant to woo his pants off, in his own words.

"You know him?" Percy questions

"Indirectly. My friend Will has spent so much time talking about his enormous crush that I probably know more about your cousin than I do myself. Will's probably setting off heart shaped fireworks as we speak."

"Ah. So he's the blond haired casanova that Nico hasn't been able to shut up about for the past few months. It's gotten quite concerning, really."

"It's ridiculous." Annabeth declares "They should just get on with it and adopt their seven kids and three cats."

Percy proceeds to wrinkle his nose (and yes, it's adorable) and tell her about how the children would be named after Pokemon and the cats after Yugi Oh! characters. She notices.. a lot of things. His eyebrows furrow when he's passionate about something, and he blushes more easily than anyone she's ever met. Their conversation continues and she finds herself enjoying his personality more than she's willing to admit. She tells him about her visions of becoming an architect, her soccer team, her qualms and praises of the most recent star wars installment… and before she knows it, her phone chimes.

"Um. Sorry." she glances down at her screen. It's a text from Piper asking why in the name of all that is holy it has taken her over two hours to buy a jar of salsa. "Yeah that's my friend who will burn me at the stake if I don't get to movie night with food. I should run." Percy looks disappointed but offers her a shy smile.

"That's cool. I should probably head back home." he waves his packet of gummy sharks at her "hopefully I'll see you around?" She tucks one of her curls behind her ear and glances up at him

"Yeah. I'd like that." Percy grins at her before he exits the shop and she grabs a couple extra jars of queso just to appease Piper.

She mulls over the conversation as she jogs her way around the block to Piper's house. It's odd, how instantly comfortable she was with him. It took her weeks before she had felt that close to any of her other friends. Her stomach is churning with a weird fluttery feeling and the crisp nighttime air isn't doing much to clear her mind. She takes her time walking up the steps to Piper's giant house. With the amount of money Tristan Mclean makes, they definitely should live on the west side of town but something about real estate and contracts made them choose this neighborhood. Piper throws the door open and rushes at Annabeth just a few moments after she rings the doorbell. She's wearing a pride shirt and shorts with multi colored palm trees on them which make Annabeth's heart clench with the faintest bit of pride.

"Annabeth!" she cries "I'm starving. And I'll murder you if you didn't bring nachos." Annabeth takes this as her cue to walk in and settle next to Reyna on the couch. They're watching the Goblet of Fire (as all the cool teens do on their Friday nights). Reyna squints her eyes at her as a greeting, which Annabeth returns with a one shouldered shrug. The couch groans as Piper flops onto the cushion next to Annabeth and she throws her legs into Annabeth's lap. Piper is rustling through Annabeth's bag of snacks when she lets out a low whistle. They both look over at her in surprise as she leans over and brushes Annabeth's face with her braids.

"Damn, Chase has game!" Annabeth squints at her and swats at her hair. This catches Reyna's interest and she turns away from the screen. Annabeth sighs

"What are you talking about?" she asks. Piper passes over the jar of salsa and is practically trembling with delight as she points out a pale yellow sticky note attached to the side. Scrawled (almost illegibly, she notes) are 10 digits, signed PJ complete with a smiley face. Reyna scans the note as she leans over.

"Who's PJ?" she asks as she shoots her a smirk. She knows that they're trying to be nonchalant about it, but the glimmer in Piper's eyes tells her otherwise. She hasn't done anything remotely romantic since her historic crush on Luke in middle school which resulted in one date freshmen year before he moved away. Piper has been begging her to go on a date ever since, and Reyna is convinced that she's aromantic just like her. It's not that Annabeth is opposed to dating, or even that she hasn't been attracted to her fair share of guys. It's just that any feelings she's had have been shallow and inconsequential; nothing she could possibly build a relationship out of. This thing with Percy is tentative and she has no idea what it holds, but deep down she knows that he'd make an amazing friend and that's important to her.

"Percy Jackson." She mutters, making sure to fixate her eyes on Victor Krum. The effect of her words is no less than she predicted. Piper squeals and drops her Tostitos and Reyna raises both eyebrows, instead of just one.

"Like, Legion's Percy Jackson? Thalia's cousin? If so, congratulations- he's like seven different levels of fine." Piper proclaims "not exactly my type, though." Reyna glances back at the number and frowns.

"Aren't people from that side of town generally elitist assholes?" Reyna asked "Also when did you get a chance to interact with him?" A wicked grin flashed across Piper's face and she grasped Annabeth's wrists.

"C'mon tell us about your crush." Piper pleaded "It'll be fun! Besides, are you going to ca- CEDRIC NO!" Piper shrieks and covers her eyes with her hands. Annabeth mentally thanks Voldemort for the distraction as Reyna shoots her a meaningful look. She glances back down at the post-it note in her hand and smiles, thinking about what Piper was about to ask. Maybe she would.


	2. i can't say the words out loud

Fridays at Pantheon High School during football season are a nightmare. Fridays at Pantheon when the games are against Legion are simply hellish. The hallways around her as Annabeth saunters to her locker are abuzz with anticipation and nervous energy. Their teams are usually evenly matched, and the night has the promise of being interesting at least.

She's thumbing through her calculus notes and mentally preparing for her upcoming quiz when she hears the familiar screech of the locker next to her. She withholds a sigh and turns to face her friend. Will is a grinning mess of floppy hair and a giant blue HOSA sweatshirt as he shoves his school bag into his locker. She really has no idea how his locker is next to her when they're supposed to be arranged alphabetically, but she isn't complaining. He's always been a steadfast friend and she's glad to have him around. What she is not always glad for, however, is the _melodrama._

"Annabeth I'm like 97% sure that I'm in love. _Love_ , Annabeth. Love" She smiles slightly at that and leans against the wall.

"The date went well, I take it?"

"It was amazing. He's so cute and funny and cool and nice and cute and- " he pauses and a thoughtful look passes over his face "you should meet him. He said he was probably going to come to tonight's game."

"Sure, kiddo." she reaches out with the hand that isn't gripping her binder and ruffles his hair.

"Chase, I am _one year_ younger than you." he groans. She grins at that and his accompanying scowl.

"You're adorable. I can't believe you're all grown up and have a _boyfriend_. William, I have never been so proud of you." she coos

"My name isn't even William!" he yelps "and speaking of boyfriends, Piper sent me a very interesting text last night about your not-so-secret admirer. I didn't think you'd be one to fall for the enemy." This. This is what she had been trying to avoid. She made a mental note to find a quaint closet to murder Piper in after her first class.

"I talked to a guy for a couple minutes at a store. It's not exactly Romeo and Juliet, Will." she said, exasperated.

"Yeah, but you _like_ him." he prods "how long has it been since―"

A shrill chime echoes throughout the building, signalling that it was time to get to class. Saved by the bell. Literally. She smiles at him in mock frustration and makes her way to her math classroom.

* * *

Her quiz is much more challenging than expected, but she's pretty sure she did moderately well on it. She turns her phone back on as soon as she walks out of the classroom, and moves next to the bannister in order to read the messages she collected.

 _ **Pipes: will says we're going to meet his guy at the game maybe annabeth's will be there 3**_

 _ **Reyna: Piper's making us do social things can we at least get food?**_

 _ **Leo: do we HAVE to spend time watching annoying jocks? -_-**_

 _ **Will: Yes we do. Kids these days smh**_

Annabeth quickly types out a response.

 _ **Annabeth: We should hang out at argo's first also he'S NOT MY GUY**_

 _ **Leo: uh huh. very convincing**_

 _ **Piper: not yet ;))))))))))))))**_

 _ **Annabeth: Ugh. Piper…**_

She shoves her phone into her pocket and slips through the horde of students in order to make it to her next class on time; AP US history, which she thankfully shares with Reyna, who was probably the one person she could stomach talking to no matter the circumstance.

* * *

As soon as the school day ends, she heads over to Piper's locker where her friends usually gather. She has one class with Reyna, two with Malcolm and Leo, and none with any of her other friends. Save lunch, she usually doesn't see them all day.

Piper grins and calls her name as she approaches, and as usual she's the easiest person to spot in a crowd. Her dark hair is braided on the sides, and she's wearing a neon orange Pantheon Spartan sweatshirt and shorts. While Annabeth and Reyna and most of the people in their friend group are relatively neutral to the rivalry, Piper is… not. She's the type of person that makes posters and brings airhorns to football games. She started cheerleading during sophomore year and hates the stigma surrounding it.

Piper grabs her hand as they walk out to the parking lot, and starts swinging her arm like a child. The main entrance of their building is surrounded by handmade posters advertising the game. Will's phone chimes with the Grey's Anatomy theme song. He smiles as he reads the screen, and gestures at them.

"Nico says that he wants to hang out this weekend." Will gasps frantically "Does that mean hang out as friends or another date? Do you think he actually likes me?"

Annabeth mentally drops her head into her hands as Piper swoops over and loops her arm through Will's. She zones out when they begin to analyze emojis and the enthusiasm of different amounts of exclamation points. She and Reyna have a theory that they both secretly participate in a two-man drama troupe during night hours.

The walk to Argo Cafe from the high school was short. It lies a couple blocks away from Chiron's and is nestled deeply into their side of town. Leo waiters there most days after school, and a couple of her older friends work there in between classes at the local college. It's the absolute epitome of the stereotypical small town diner, with peeling vinyl siding and 90s style booths. It's Annabeth's absolute favorite place to study and hang out. Piper picks a booth near the back of the building, and they all slide into the seats: Annabeth and Reyna sitting opposite the other three.

Annabeth manages to join the conversation unscathed for the first couple minutes, but as soon as Piper orders her usual strawberry milkshake she scoots closer to the table with a predatory gleam in her hazel eyes.

"Have you texted him yet?" she presses. Will winces in sympathy. Once Piper gets on one of her matchmaking quests, she turns into a lion stalking her prey. Impossible to defeat, and absolutely terrifying. In all honesty, Annabeth had dealt with the issue of Percy Jackson's number in the same way she dealt with everything else of emotional importance. She ignored it's existence and avoided thinking about it. She was about 50% sure the note was lodged at the bottom of her backpack. Now, all she had to do was find a way to get her friends off the blood trail. She sighs in exaggerated despair.

"Alas, I seem to have lost his number. Now I'll never know what might have been." she drawls. Reyna looks at her in obvious disbelief. Piper huffs.

"Well. Fortunately for you, I took a picture of the note while you weren't looking!" she says "you have zero excuses for not talking to the cute guy you have a crush on." Crap. She should've burned it when she had the chance. Annabeth takes a pointedly long sip of her milkshake before shooting Leo an expression that hopefully conveys her SOS. Leo returns a small nod in her direction.

"Hey, Pipes?" he ventures "What did you think about that last chem quiz we had?" Piper scoffs and shakes out her braids.

"You can't distract me from uniting Annabeth and her soulmate!" she barks "Reyna, please,"

Reyna shoots Annabeth an apologetic smile before swiping Annabeth's phone from her hand and tossing it into Piper's waiting ones.

"Treachery!" Annabeth squeaks. Reyna just shrugs and places her chin in her hands.

"She said she'd pay me five bucks. Take it up with the psycho." she says dismissively.

The sight of Piper furiously typing on her phone is.. something out of her nightmares to be honest. She has no idea when she had the chance to add her fingerprint to Annabeth's phone but it doesn't surprise her. Piper's passion for her friends is one of the reasons Annabeth loves her so much, but also one of the reasons she is terrified of her.

"aaaand, send!"

Piper taps the screen in satisfaction, barely missing Annabeth's attempt to dive across the table and take it from her. Their glasses clatter all over the floor, and Annabeth's hand is dripping with maple syrup from Will's plate of waffles. The staff barely spare them a glance. It's quite concerning how regular this is. She slides back into her seat and wipes her hand off with a napkin.

Piper tilts the screen towards Will who nods in approval.

"It's honestly not as bad as I expected." he states in an attempt to reassure her.

Knowing Piper, that could range anywhere from a simple hello to three paragraphs of heart eye emojis and cheesy pick up lines. Annabeth groans and drops her head in her hands.

"I'm going to murder you to death, Mclean." she mumbles.

"You wouldn't _have_ to if you'd just man up and do it yourself." Piper yelps "You obviously like him, so what's the problem?"

The problem was, that Annabeth liked him. He was sweet and smart and while she hated the nights that Piper forced her into watching rom-coms, it was like something shifted into place as soon as they met. She had absolutely no idea how to approach the situation and it warranted at least another week of avoidance. Her phone chimes and if Piper's squeal is anything to go by, Percy Jackson has horrible timing.

She lifts her head and clasps her phone before Piper can do further damage. She sighs in relief once she sees what Piper sent him. It just says "Hey, it's Annabeth from the store. What's up?"

 _ **Annabeth's Mans: hi! I wasn't sure if you were going to text but it's super cool that you did. Apparently Nico's bf is going to come to the game so I'm on babysitting duty to make sure he doesn't pass out from lovesickness. Should be a blast.**_

She smiles and changes the contact name to something more fitting, before typing out her response.

 _ **Annabeth: Will's super excited about it. Hopefully I'll see you there?**_

 _ **Percy: yeah! A few of my friends are on the team so I usually have to go to every game**_

 _ **Annabeth: same. Piper quit cheer after last year but she still makes us fill our social quota through school events**_

 _ **Percy: yikes. I've never understood why football gets so much attention. There's just not enough.. I don't know.**_

 _ **Annabeth: Water? I guess land sports are boring for half fishes.**_

 _ **Percy: STOP you can't let the NSA know about me being a merman, Annabeth!**_

She huffs out a laugh at that and Piper makes a screeching sound that sounds concerning. Annabeth sighs and flips her phone over so the screen is facing the wood of the table in front of her.

"What'd he say?" Piper presses. Annabeth raises one shoulder in a shrug and rolls her eyes at the idiot she calls her friend.

"He's coming to the game with Will's boyfriend." She replies, jerking her thumb across the table. Will ducks his head and blushes and Piper beams at the both of him. Leo leans over and steals a bunch of her french fries while she's distracted. She claps her hands together in finality.

"Great!" Piper chirps "We can meet both of them tonight." Her voice contains her usual air of excitement but beneath it there's an edge of firmness, which let's her know exactly how serious Piper is about the whole thing. Reyna signals for the waitress to give them their bill. Today it's their old friend Silena who's majoring in Public Relations a town over. She thumbs through her phone again as the rest of her friends make conversation.

 _ **Annabeth: my friends want to meet you when they meet nico. prepare for insanity!**_

It's about a minute before he responds

 _ **Percy: they can't be more intense than my friends *shudder* but i can't wait to see you there :))**_

She can't help but smile at that. A warm feeling spreads throughout her as she imagines him curled up and typing this with his dumb eyes and furrowed brows. It's not just him, it's her idiot friends curled up around her, forming a steady backdrop of people she loves. It's this pulsing feeling of contentment that she's never felt before. She leans her head on Reyna's shoulder as she types out another message.

 _ **Annabeth: I can't wait either 3**_


End file.
